Traditionally, a stick or fork is used by campers for supporting a hot dog, frankfurter, sausage, marshmellow or the like over a campfire during cooking. One end of the stick or fork is normally sharpened and pushed through one or more items, and is then hand-held with the food item positioned immediately over the fire so that the heat of the fire cooks the food.
One shortcoming to the use of sticks of forks for this purpose is that the food item sometimes falls from the stick during cooking, or brushes against the burning logs or coals, thus contaminating the food. Additionally, penetration of the meat causes it to dry during cooking and the cooker must use his or her fingers to manipulate the food item before and after cooking. Additionally, it is difficult to evenly rotate the food item over an open flame so as to cook all around it equally well. A further drawback to a stick or fork is the danger of the user, especially children poking one another in the eye or body with their points.
In the past, various patents have issued relating to the roasting of hot dogs and other food items over an open campfire. In particular, U.S. Design Pat. No. 244,903 teaches a frankfurter roasting stick that has a shaft with a handle at one end and a hook at the opposite end for receiving a hot dog thereon. A loop is formed adjacent to the hook so as to, possibly, receive the hot dog therein. The end of the hot dog is attached to the hook and extends outwardly along the length of the shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,657, issued on Jan. 8, 1991, to G. Ghenic teaches a manually-manipulatable device for supporting and rotating a number of hot dogs above the surface of a grill during a cooking operation. The device is equipped with balancer elements that maintain the device in a stabilized condition on the grill surface. An elongated handle is rotatably attached to a housing that mounts a number of rotary hot dog grippers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,778, issued on Oct. 18, 1994, to Mayfield et al. teaches a hand-held, rotatable food roasting apparatus for use in supporting food over a campfire. This device includes a cylindrical receptacle having opposed axial ends, an open interior space, and an opening formed in one of the axial ends through which food may be placed into and removed from the interior space. An elongated handle is attached to the receptacle for allowing the apparatus to be supported and rotated over the source of heat.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 344,216, issued on Feb. 15, 1994, to Shepherd et al. teaches a hot dog/marshmellow roaster having a shaft with three prongs extending outwardly therefrom. Handle elements are provided along the length of the shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,381, issued on May 10, 1994 to R. Green teaches a campfire skewer having an elongate member with a first end, a second end, a first portion adjacent to the first end, and a second portion adjacent to the second end. The first end has a means for impaling food. A hand grip is rotatably mounted on the first portion of the elongate member. By holding the hand grip and manipulating the second portion of the elongate member, the elongate member can be made to rotate in a rotisserie-like fashion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,609, issued on Dec. 23, 1975, to R. J. Scott teaches a roasting implement which includes a telescopic rod connected to prongs at one end. A handle is formed at the end of the telescoping rod opposite the prongs. The prongs are normally stored within the rod and telescopically movable thereoutof to expand to a generally V-shaped arrangement.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for roasting food items that securely retains the food item at the end of the shaft.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that allows the food item to be evenly roasted during the roasting activity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device which forms an attractive grille mark along the outer surface of the food item.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a device in which the hook member at the end of the shaft is stowed in a safe position.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.